Several people have requested thoughts and analysis on the decision by South Carolina (former) Police Officer Michael Slager to plead guilty to civil rights violations.

From the outset this case was unique, stunningly so. Our research into this case was necessarily fact-driven because any emotional review of the shooting is fraught with over simplistic reaction. This is one of those cases where logic battles with emotion and the outcome, as it stands today, is even more evidence toward that end.

Michael Slager pleading guilty to federal charges against the State’s inability to gain any criminal charges shows how the dynamic of law can run parallel to justice but not necessarily merge. This is the framework for my perspective on this case.

It’s important to note what Slager’s plea isn’t. There is no admission of violation of statutory state law. Slager is not pleading guilty to any form of manslaughter, and most certainly isn’t guilty of level of statutory murder. The unusual nature of this dynamic is why the State of South Carolina has withdrawn any/all criminal charges now that Slager has plead guilty to a federal violation of Scott’s civil rights.

There is a lot about this case where the dynamics of justice have failed on both sides. The fact that the case was highly-charged politically created part of the issue. From the media’s perspective the trial jury was “hung” and a mistrial was declared; but that’s not the real story.

The trial jury were hung on the ‘voluntary manslaughter’ (lesser charge), not the murder charge. Oddly the failure of the defense team to demand a polling of the jury on the manslaughter charge to drive home that aspect, and the political decision by Judge Clifton Newman not to draw that distinction on his own, must have ultimately contributed to the decision today.

The State overcharged Slager to appease a political mob. There was no way, with the facts sure to come out in court, that a murder conviction was ever possible. Every intellectually honest person knew that; and that’s what the jury also confirmed.

Yes, Slager shot and killed Walter Scott. However, there was less than 1.5 seconds between the end of Walter Scott’s two minute physical fight with Slager and the first shot from Slager’s pistol. Ultimately the question becomes was the shooting legal?

The answer to that question is yes, and no. Yes, under the SC legal statutes the action Slager took was legal in all aspects. However, it is also true that Slager’s less than 1.5 second decision to shoot a felon fleeing custody, in the back, after an almost 2 minute physical struggle, multiple times, was not a good decision.

If the jury had stated in court they were hung on the ‘voluntary manslaughter’ aspect, the federal civil rights violation charges would have frozen, perhaps disappeared. The State and Feds were lucky Judge Newman didn’t poll the jury. If Solicitor General Scarlett Wilson re-tried the case for just ‘voluntary manslaughter’, the result could go either way. If not guilty, well, how can an officer act lawfully, and still be in violation of law.

The family of Walter Scott already received a payout over $6 million. Michael Slager is not admitting to violation of any state law. The state is dropping all charges. Slager has entered a deal to plea guilty to federal civil rights charges.

The Trump Justice Department did not, as was once rumored, actually dismiss the federal case. But it does seem to have engineered a deal that includes the dropping of state charges. Federal judge David C. Norton, a George W. Bush appointee, could sentence Slager to 20 years in prison, but he could also sentence him to no prison time at all—and should: Slager has already spent a savage eight months in solitary confinement, not allowed to hold or even see his first son, born during his incarceration.

Michael Slager has already spent more than a year-and-a-half in jail before trial. Eight months of the time in jail was in solitary confinement. Sentencing on the civil rights plea should be interesting.

Jimmy Jack, my feelings exactly. I am sickened by this whole thing. What a tragedy. I am sorry the fleeing felon precipitated this mess. I don’t condone the officer’s decision, but who among us can say what our judgment would have been in those exact circumstances? I think he has suffered enough. I hope and I pray that he doesn’t have to serve additional time.

Amen! I am the mama of a police officer who has a wonderful wife who is also a civil servant (teacher) and four beautiful children. We pray for him every day. Having to make decisions in a split second can be life or death for both the officer and the perpetrator.

Yep. He went down to the border talking about building the wall and chasing down those MS-13 gangsters. He should be back in DC charging H. Clinton, Obama, Comey and those two pukes from the IRS (among others). Throw the big dogs in prison (or stretch their necks) and the little dogs will run and hide.

Do you really think he could have pulled together a federal grand jury, presented evidence, and come up with indictments of the “big dogs” within two months in a completely politicized DOJ? Nice try. You sound like a concer troll or or a one-trick pony.

What about all the evidence gathered during those futile congressional hearings held by do-nothings Gowdy and Chaffetz? Which is more important to you-chasing gangsters or “draining the swamp”? I’m tired of the talk and posturing. How about at least some indictments? Oh…and your judgmental post is way off base.

And Trump also made a point of saying he would go after and get rid of the thugs and gangs who are wreaking havoc in the US. So sorry it doesn’t comport with your singular view of what Trump should do.

Donald Trump, in the second debate, said that if he was elected, he’d appoint a special prosecutor and then told Hillary that she’d be in jail. He also campaigned on “draining the swamp”. Your idea of the “swamp” is MS-13 gangsters. My idea of the “swamp” are the thugs who are members of the Uniparty gang.

Oh, so nothing has changed since then? No new facts or information? Changed circumstances? Reprioritization? Unanticipated roadblocks? Why does one thing he can do now exclude something else he cannot do now?

ZurichMike said, “Oh, so nothing has changed since then? No new facts or information? Changed circumstances? Reprioritization? Unanticipated roadblocks?” The answer to your questions is “Yes.” Since Trump has become president, many new facts have come out about Hillary’s email scandal, the IRS scandal, Comey’s scandal, Abedin sending classified info to her husband, etc. Maybe Sessions should rethink his priorities. It is extremely disappointing to see that Trump is up against the members of his own party..

Again, Trump is pretty much on his own fighting this hmself. He has arrayed against him the media, the UniParty, Wall Street, the Democrat Party, and one-trick ponies like you who need instant gratification to all things done to your sastisfaction and your timetable.

Sorry, I am done wasting my time with hacks like you. Go back to Ted Cruz, Mark Levin, and Jeb Bush — you are a classic NeverTrump troll pretending to be self-righteous.

ZurichMike posted, “You sound like a concer troll or or a one-trick pony”, “…you (sic) arguments are one-dimenstional (sic) and pathetic”, and “Sorry, I am done wasting my time with hacks like you. Go back to Ted Cruz, Mark Levin, and Jeb Bush — you are a classic NeverTrump troll pretending to be self-righteous.” Hmm…Actually I supported Trump before he was popular on CTH. Just because I think Jeff Sessions could be investigating someone you’re ok with, I’m a “NeverTrump” hack. Your esteemed status as a prolific poster on CTH doesn’t go far with me. You couldn’t argue the facts so you call me names. You know what they say….

What proof do you have that Sessions is not investigating Hillary or Weiner or anyone else? Federal grand juries take time to convene, Sessions doesn’t have all his assistant AGs in place, and he certainly wouldn’t tell anyone — let alone a frustrated, ignorant, pearl-clutching idiot like you — whether or not he was holding grand jury hearings on a criminal matter involving high profile people.

I made no claim about my status as a poster, and in fact have posted relatively little since the inauguration. It is you you float that non-issue. And yet you failed to answer a single one of my questions, which cast doubt on your prior statements. Instead, you continue to caterwaul. Sad.

The reality is that the Feds can do almost anything they want. Federal Judges have been stripped of their discretionary powers via “sentencing guidelines” basically a flow chart of punishments for X crimes. What this has done is to make the Prosecutor (Executive Branch) the Judge and the Judge (Judicial Branch) a rubber stamp for the Federal Prosecutor.

The Feds are a den of vipers headed by the serpent Comey. Prosecutors are led by the FBI, and therein lies the problem. (Actually this is not unlike the lobbyists writing legislation the the Con-gress introduces and hypes- behind the front of actual representation lies the power center Ditto with the FBI/ Prosecutor structure.

How do you know the negotiations weren’t already underway and/or concluded by then? Court hearings are often scheduled months in advance. Sessions was sworn in beginning of February. DOJ was and is completely politicized. If you think he could fix everything and every case within seconds of being sworn in, you’re nuts.

Yes, he lost hope. 8 months solitary, plus even more total confinement, legal bills and financial exhaustion, probably presented with the prospect of endless trials (and solitary) by Obamunist lawyers.

It sounds like the judge has a huge leeway in this sentencing. Of course, this also sounds like a plea-bargain. I believe that the sentencing is also settled in most plea-bargains. So the officer probably knows what the sentencing is going to be, and it is something fair that he can live with.

Here is one case where I honestly do not know how I feel about it. The victim should not have fought off the officer, and the officer should have just followed him awaiting back-up–not shoot him in the back.

I think there’s lot of probability there will be a little more time for the publicity graphic that Slager is led away in cuffs/chains. If it’s “2 years” (mostly already served), it’s a sacrifice to the SJW and mobs.

If it’s more, it’s just a white officer being lynched for a sacrifice to BLM.

Happy that the linked article gave a well deserved shoutout to TCTH. After reading the article, I can’t blame the officer for pleading guilty to the obscure federal civil rights violation called “Deprivation of Rights Under Color Of Law.” He also was about to lose his pro bono lawyer and was facing a federal hearing in May followed by a state hearing starting August 28. Everything was stacked against him. God willing the judge sentence him to time served.

This reminds me of Santa Clara County, where they maneuver people into plea deals routinely though coercion.

Santa Clara County is known for their high conviction rate, but not necessarily known for how the achieve it.

Judge (redacted), now retired, stated it well one day when speaking on a panel, “I use bail to get people to see things my way” he said. At the time he was speaking about utterly defenseless homeless people, but he adjudicated many different types of cases and did seem to ‘use bail’ to get people to see things his way ( how he had a “way” before the trial is obviously up for discussion about due process on another day .)

One can easily imagine Judge (redacted) is not alone.

In Santa Clara County they have an interesting coercive system in place. High bail combined with harsh conditions for those being held before trail produce, over time, an individual more likely to plea.

In Santa Clara County, those whose cases have not yet been adjudicated are punished more harshly than those whose have and have been convicted a crime and then sentenced.

Those who have not enjoyed a trial, if female, are held in “Medium North B” generally, in locked cages/cells, with harsher detention conditions. They are allowed out of their cages once a day for an hour, maybe, unless the CO’s come up with some reason to hold everybody on lockdown.

The jail used to be run by the Sheriff’s Department, but was turned over to a lesser trained, more coercive and sadistic “Corrections Department” years back when the Board of Supervisors was amassing powers, and split the jail off, then later the Probation Department. The Sheriffs were the breath of fresh air, even when they floated in to chain the people up for their bus ride downtown for, likely, the “continuance” hearing.

It wasn’t the Sheriff’s who felt the females up as they moved them through the underground tunnels under the courthouse, it was the CO’s.

The Sheriff’s had integrity.

In this day, the DA, they would charge even when the PD recommended against it, if there were political inducement to do so.

This system would arguably be helpful in budgetary processes as well, for Santa Clara County does such a good job of coercing people into pleas that they spend less funding the DA and the Public Defender and the Alternate Defender, as trials are much more expensive than plea factories.

All one has to do is examine the Santa Clara County budget against the number of defendants and wonder how the heck the DA can afford to bring all the people they charge to trial or how the Public Defenders office can afford to defend them.

Of course they can’t.

This also solves the problem of “the work”. Being a lawyer can be hard work. Researching cases and writing documents for the Judge that leave a trail and argue certain points takes time, energy, and effort. And leaves a trail for the defendant to return to. May it never be.

Imagine you are a DA or PD and you can either spend your day in a stuffy office writing pleadings to the court and arguing motions, etc, or you can stroll over to the courthouse, grab a cup of coffee on the way, and meet your opposing counsel in the hallway to “discuss” a continuance and hopefully leave the individual whose bail the Judge has taken care of, in custody, stewing for so long that a trial is less and less appealing by the day.

If you are the PD, you can convince the defendant to waive their right to a preliminary hearing while you “investigate” and then never investigate because your plan all along is “the plea”. If your client mentions trial, you can find one excuse and reason after another not to go there, including simply denying them the right to a trial when they finally catch on and demand it.

If you hold out long enough, the person will give in and you won’t have to write all those research papers, ugh. Coffee in the morning is a much better path than resistance.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara County helps the whole process out by holding you under harsher conditions prior to sentencing.

Once you are sentenced, your uniform color changes and you are moved into an open “pod” with many more freedoms, a breath of fresh air compared to the near solitary confinement they hold you in prior to adjudication.

Why, just like Officer Slager. They tortured him, too.

Was interesting to hear Santa Clara County on the “forefront” of “rights” in the justice system, but all one needs to do is dig down into the math of their budgets and the reality of their classification system to realize that while they may not like being coerced into following the law, they routinely use coercion while they break it.

When there are children involved and the defendant cares about them, game, set, match.

Remember this rule: most convicts do 50% of 80% of their sentence. I didnt write that wrong. They automatically get credit for time in, plus some, then are released earlier due to behavior, overcrowding, lack of interest by victims or advocates when requesting parole, incompetent parole boards, or lawyers/politicians who rewrite the rules via legislation or a combination of these. This one is hard because LEO knows you cant shoot a fleeing felon. Doesnt mean the guy wasnt a total POS, because felons are. It means it was a bad shooting. If the guy had been shot from the front, this wouldnt have gone to trial.
Let that marinate a bit. 50% of 80% of their sentence.
And in California, we have turnstiles at the jails, courtesy of democrats and lawyers.

Not to mention, they get to go to college at taxpayer expense! A nurse killed my father-in-law at a nursing home by intentionally giving him morphine (that was not prescribed). She ended up pleading guilty (answer to prayer for God to shut the mouths of liars and only truth come out during the trial) and she got 10 years. She was released after 8 years because she was rewarded for earning a degree while she was in there.

Some months later, a congressman from our state sent out a flier asking whether we would be willing to have in increase in taxes in order to improve our roads and I gave him an ear-full. I told him that the State needs to tend to their finances just like my husband and I do and not live beyond their means and if we need new roads, we need to see what we can cut. I told him that the state could cut the “college degrees for prisoners” program and he told me that helps them to get jobs and re-enter society again and without it they would re-offend and be locked up again. Needless to say, I was not sympathetic.
Everything is so messed up in our country.

Yes an officer can shoot a fleeing felon. The second he ran he became a fugitive. I don’t remember the name of the SC case. It wasn’t a bad shoot. Try reading the whole article where it’s all spelled out.

Remember also the point made by on VDARE.com by a reader calling himself “A Safely-Retired Law Enforcement Veteran”—

The officer is not shooting a fleeing felon and the shooting is not a Garner seizure. The seizure occurred already, and Scott is actually escaping from custody, which makes him a shoot-on-sight subject. Persons escaping from custody can be shot.

I have no idea if this ‘reader’s’ interpretation is correct or not, but if that is SC law…..

17 year law enforcement officer in one of the largest departments in the United States and sometimes poster to the CTH here.

The interpretation of the fleeing felon law by many is incorrect. A law enforcement officer can not shoot a fleeing felon in most circumstances unless they present an immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm to an individual or public at large. It’s for this reason that police can not shoot fleeing drug dealers, burglars, etc…….

The officers attorneys did not (or at least I don’t recall them doing so) present the “fleeing felon” law as a defense for the officer’s actions because it would have been completely inappropriate to do so.

They were not allowed to present that defense. That is what pisses me off. The Special Judge forced a him to argue self defense! He was railroaded. The Special Judge was appointed by the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court and none of his rulings were subject to appeal. Think about it. He was FORCED in to an affirmative defense. How sick is that? His lawyer went right along with the whole scheme.

Can you imagine if we had video of S/A Jelly Bryce’ 19 or so kills? Or the FBI shootout at Little Bohemia? Or Frank Hamer’s takedown of Bonnie and Clyde? The Slager shooting would appear totally by the book in comparison.

If you look at the shooting of Lavoy Finicum it makes you wonder how this works. When is his family getting their 6 million? He was staggering in knee deep snow looses his balance brings his hands down and they shoot him dead. It just makes me shake my head in disgust.

Thank you Sundance. I was waiting to see what you said. I agree whole heartedly and also am hoping this is the result of a deal that results in no jail time. Having so many South Carolinians in the Trump administration was likely helpful – although I’d bet Lindsey Graham was as useless as ever.

A two minute struggle is very long when you’re in the mix and surely would impact one’s judgment toward defending their life. We can’t keep hanging police out to dry if we hope to keep honest police on duty who will help to keep our cities safe.

I have faith that the good people of SC will not burn down historic Charleston in riots nor will SC LEO or citizens allow that to happen. However the Soror machine of BLM/LaRaza/Antifa/Resist et al are itching for riots and willing to get out there and start them.

This story stated, “It’s very hard to tell from reading the Main Stream Media, but lead defense attorney Andy Savage actually used the argument developed by The Conservative Treehouse/ Last Refuge website that Scott had shot Office Slager with his own taser before fleeing—totally discrediting the Unprovoked-Atrocity-By-Brutal-Cop Narrative that took in even American Renaissance’s famously finicky Jared Taylor.[Officer Michael Slager, White Man, April 9, 2015]”

So proud of our Sundance and the thorough research that goes into every story here! KUDOS!

I might sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I still think this entire thing was a sham.
The whole video setup – with the cell phone, sneaking through the small fence line, with grass and trees – and then suddenly the camera pops up into position. Just at that right time, the action starts – from what appears to be a held position. The short struggle, the run away, the shooting.

It looked totally and completely staged. Bash all you like about false flags and faked events. We all know of some that DID take place.

Just wanted to mention this again. I live in SC, about 2 hours from Charleston. Our local PD wanted to increase its staffing, they wanted to hire additional LEOs. It turns out that they are having a hard time just keeping up with attrition. So many are leaving, so fast, they just can’t get ahead. Now, who would be surprised???
I am fervently hoping that the plea agreement included time served. Enough!

The DOJ headed by our potted plant put the screws to Slager. No way the state had a case. Plea Bargain. Uggghhhhh! bad lawyer, croocked South Carolina politicos. Arrrrgh! Even if they don’t put him in prison it sucks. Poor guy. I really feel sorry for him. Undue Process wins the day.

Yes but now that it has been pulled from state to federal, Trump is in position to pardon Slager at some future point whereas if it had remained state, it would be out of Trump’s hand. So maybe at the end of Trump’s first term.

I better explain what irks me the most about this case. IMO the correct defense for Slager was justifiable homicide. The system and the politicians in South Carolina rigged the trial and prevented him that defense. They FORCED him in to a self defense case that put the burden of an affirmative defense on him. His lawyer never even made a peep about it. To me it stinks to HIGH HEAVEN. He would have been acquitted with a justifiable homicide defense. The poor guy was sitting in solitary with no idea what was going on. This was The South Carolina Special. Political Persecution. Slager was EXPENDABLE.

Evidently we’re all expendable, Howie. Law Enforcement and civilian alike. White people making a decision to avoid as many badly behaving black people as possible renders one a racist according to lefty dogma, and the flip side of that coin is black people avoiding badly behaving black people being rendered Uncle Tom (spare parts/lower-than-low) according to the same dogma. You’d think the left would notice they’re going in circles with this “raycisssss” dogma, but nooooo. So, it is considered beyond the pale to notice things and act/react accordingly in this country and it reached epic nuttiness during Obola’s reign. (I am so thankful he’s outta there!) A bunch of us don’t care what we’re called anymore. Labels don’t bother me.

Unfortunately, most chiefs and sheriffs are politicians, therefore anyone but their cronies are expendable. They would rather throw decent cops to the wolves and let the chips fall than stand behind them. It destroys the lives of the leo and family in the process. LEO are socially isolated from most people just because of the job, and rarely see day to day appreciation, depending on where they work.
LEO should be able to shoot fleeing felons. It would cause deterrence.
This is the kind of hatred that is too common nowadays:

There comes a point when fighting certain things in the justice system when it makes sense on a global level to take the deal and get the hell out of dodge as dodge has the resources to grind you into oblivion and simply will not play fairly.

sorry Sundance, it is in the body of the article. A son born while they held him in solitary. That’s how they do it. They torture you to extract a plea, because they have to win. Sometimes it is simple pride and immaturity driving the need for a win, even when they know they are wrong.

It takes the very opposite – letting go of pride, to get the hell out of dodge and home to the babies.

Interesting, so now the State can shoot a felon in the back, a fleeing felon, who is no further threat to the officer, because why? Because he is a felon and will therefore be a dangerous threat to everyone in the vicinity, so now every felon who runs can be shot on sight because he might reasonably thought to be a public threat.
The US system is beyond bizarre, it’s truly Alice in Wonderland.